E-Commerce in the Philippines: The Advantages of Online Shopping and Transactions

One of the best things that the internet has given people is the addition of another income stream for the regular Juan. Before online shops became a thing, a huge majority of the Filipino people were just consumers, with only a small minority thriving as entrepreneurs.

With the advancement of technology, the ordinary Filipino has been empowered and given some leverage to make it as entrepreneurs and business people.

Low Income, High Growth

In January 2018, the Internet World Stats reported that a 12% increase in the number of Filipinos active online took place and brought the number up to 67 million from the previous year.

Though not as big as Malaysian or Indonesian e-commerce, the Philippines shows much promise at going double-digit with its online sales from its present 1% to 2% share of all the retail sales in the country.

One of the main drivers for this projected growth is the country’s over 100-million population making it a lucrative and attractive country for e-commerce. Other drivers include improving telecoms infrastructure and an increasing number of people with internet connectivity.

E-Commerce on the Rise

A 2015 study stated that 9 out of 10 Filipinos prefer online shopping compared to conventional in-store shopping. They no longer need to brave the grueling Metro Manila traffic, fight over parking spots, and go against the hordes of people in malls and retail shops. They also find better deals and cheaper options online.

With these reasons, it is no surprise that online shopping has steadily gained popularity over the years. With online shops like Zalora, Lazada, and Shopee, to name a few, people have been given access to an entirely different world of shopping.

Cargo services in the Philippines have also benefited from the popularity of online shopping as consumers and sellers from all over the country enter transactions with each other.

Huge Potential, Very Promising Future

The consistent growth of Philippine e-commerce can be attributed to the comfort and convenience it offers to the Filipino shopper.The following stats prove how effective, efficient, and economical online shopping is:

Market Revenue – US$840 million in 2018

An annual growth rate between 2018 to 2022 – 12% plus a projected market volume of US$1.32 billion by 2022.

The largest segment of electronics and media with total revenue of US$234 million in 2018 alone

User penetration projection of 46.5% in 2022 from 44.1% in 2018

Revenue per user – Average of US$17.77 in 2018

With these numbers, the Philippine government sees the industry as a very promising industry that shows high potential in earnings and revenue. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has already plotted an e-commerce roadmap to 2020, which aims to increase the industry’s gross domestic product contribution to 25% at the end of the year from only 10% in 2015. The government agency says that e-commerce can help boost the number of small and medium enterprises to compete on a global scale.

At the rate that things are going now for online shopping and transactions, it is not a surprise if there is a sudden increase of entrepreneurs. E-commerce is opening doors for ordinary Filipinos to own a business without the need to put out a large capital. The concept is democratizing and empowering.